Monday, December 31, 2012

Gassing Up

Kuma d.o.g. was so disappointed as I turned my back on her and headed out the door to get in the truck to head for the cabin. Although there is still plenty of snow cover on the ground, my mission was to go to the barn yard and obtain another 100 lb LP cylinder to haul to the cabin before the feeding cylinder goes empty. Under the snow, layers of mud exists and I couldn't chance letting a fat Labrador run free in such muck; especially since I was driving Maximus, Nic's truck. I've done this once and the lesson I learned is still very vivid in my mind. Cleaning out the cab of the truck is not only time consuming, its just a nasty job after a wet, muddy dog has been playing in the creek and mud.

The trail to the cabin is still heavily snow covered so a truck bed full of cut firewood was needed to gain traction even with good tires and 4-wheel drive ascending the hills. Adding a full 100 lb cylinder of cabin fuel would only help the cause.

After spinning and sliding, the trip was a success. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get as close as needed so the last few yards involved carrying and then dragging the cylinder to the manifold. There was a time pride would drive me to carry the load but as we age, we become more innovative and prefer easier solutions. Today, I found dragging the cylinder was the answer for avoiding back strain or a hernia.

As LP feeds, the level is obvious even in winter as the cylinder will ice over below the liquid level. It was clear delivery was none too soon, especially since temperatures were to drop lower into the teens. The hooked up tank had less than 4" remaining, perhaps enough for a couple of days.

With a back up cylinder ready and waiting, the cabin is now ready for whatever mother nature chooses to unleash, at least for a few weeks.